The Dream of Joseph: Practices of Identity in Pacific Art

Abstract

This essay explores presentations of identity in two recent exhibitions of Polynesian art. The first and more widely celebrated of these, Te Maori, emphasized traditional artworks; the second, consisting of work by migrant Polynesians, presented contemporary culture and identity in more mobile and fluid terms. The idea that personal identity is formed by cultural background and tradition nevertheless remains dominant in individual artists’ discussions of their concerns and motivations.